Chapter 1: Katniss is Bedded

The night is cool and warm out here in the woods.

Overlooking our favorite view, my best friend Gale and I watch the moon shine in the sky. Gale suddenly turns to me, and even with the moonlight shining on his face, I know what's on his mind.

Tomorrow is the reaping for the 74th Hunger Games. And he very well could be picked.

"Catnip, in case I am picked tomorrow, I need to tell you something."

I smile at his unusual forwardness - and smiling is unusual for me. "What?"

"I love you."

I don't know what to say. But Gale evidently does not want me to say anything, for he suddenly bends down, takes my face in his hands, and kisses me.

My eyes widen, and I think I make some choked squeak in the back of my throat. My whole body stiffens in shock. I literally don't know what to do. No man has ever kissed me before. And what do I feel for the man whose lips now dance across my frozen ones? I am unsure.

But this is Gale - the one person other than my little sister, Prim, whom I know would never hurt me. So something in my brain clicks, telling me, Go ahead. Kiss him back.

So I do. I'm no good at it. My mouth slips awkwardly against his and I cannot seem to find my own rhythm. But I trust that Gale will show me what to do.

Pretty soon, our lips are one, moving in tandem in a very easy give-and-take. I feel Gale easing me backwards, towards the grass. At one point, he artfully lifts me with the one hand now on the small of my back and shifts me in reverse a few feet along the grass until we are lying on the picnic blanket we brought along. I prop myself up on my elbows, determined to not lose contact with him, but pretty soon, he is gently pushing me back down until he is lying on top of me.

Gale settles between my legs and I feel him nudging my father's hunting jacket off of my shoulders. I surprise even myself with my own boldness as I help in its removal, then my blouse, then my pants. Gale only needs slight assistance in stripping himself.

The rational part of my brain tugs at me. Why are we doing this? Is it wrong? These are feelings I have never felt before - scary and new. Why indulge them when you could get burned? These are thoughts that have dictated my cautious nature all of my life, only now they are drowned out by a more powerful chorus: that of boldness and lust.

Gale resettles himself between my thighs, before burying his face in my neck, suckling the flesh there. I whimper like a baby. Only that is soon replaced by the pinching tear of flesh as an unfamiliar organ - Gale's penis - penetrates the most sacred spot upon my body. I can only stare up at the stars above, letting out a strangled gasp. What it takes to…. accommodate him is too much!

Or so I think. A few moments pass before I am used to the feeling of my best friend inside of me. He stays perfectly still, giving me a look that seeks my permission to continue. I grant it with a determined nod of the head.

Gale begins to roll his hips into mine, slowing building up a thrusting motion. In and out, in and out, he goes. With every reunification of our sexual areas, the pleasure builds within me, spreading from my heart to my stomach to the tips of my toes and, finally, the apex of my core.

Before long, Gale is pounding into me with a vigor, me clawing at his sweating and rippling back while I babble words that must sound like English to him, given his silent adjustments, but not to my own ears pounding with blood.

Even in this roaring world of passionate coitus, my hunter's instincts can at last hear Gale's breathing become shallower, more desperate. His thrusts into my vagina become more wild. At last -

"Uhhhhhhhhh!" Gale shakes like a leaf in the wind and flops on top of me, just as unfamiliar liquids explode into my center, tickling the nervous spots there.

We are sweaty, panting, the picnic blanket bunched up thanks to our violent motions; some of it is even clutched in my fists. Gale finally pulls out of me and rolls onto his side, allowing my lungs to fill with air once more.

Muscles aching, my body shaking with pleasure and slight chill, we dress and walk back to our homes, parting ways at my door where Gale dares to give me one last kiss - a very passionate one in which I can do nothing but lie limp in his arms.

And the most frightening thing of all is….. I hope that he does not get Reaped so we can have more nights like this one.